Polk Profiles Automotive Market Share
8 March 1999
Polk Profiles Automotive Market Share Five-Year Comparison Confirms Polarization
DETROIT, March 8 -- Recent analysis by The Polk Company
confirms a polarization of the automotive market, with U.S. manufacturers
continuing to meet consumer demand for light trucks and Asian manufacturers
depending more heavily on cars for their share of the market.
Polk registration data for new vehicles shows a shift of 9.7 percentage
points in the light truck/car makeup of the domestic manufacturers' portfolio
from 1994 through 1998. The U.S. automakers' share of light trucks grew from
47.1 percent to 56.8 percent of their total sales during that five-year
period, while their share of car sales decreased from 52.9 percent in 1994 to
43.2 percent in 1998.
By comparison, the Asian manufacturers' sales of light trucks shifted 5.9
percentage points, from 23.3 percent to 29.2 percent, and the Europeans'
light-truck sales rose 5.2 percentage points, from 3.7 percent to 8.9 percent.
These increases were caused primarily by new, luxury light-truck models being
introduced into the marketplace.
MANUFACTURER CAR/LIGHT TRUCK SPLIT
LIGHT TRUCKS 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 Change ('94-'98)
Domestic 47.1% 48.7% 51.4% 53.4% 56.8% +9.7
Asian 23.3% 23.3% 24.3% 27.5% 29.2% +5.9
European 3.7% 4.4% 4.7% 6.5% 8.9% +5.2
CARS 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 Change ('94-'98)
Domestic 52.9% 51.3% 48.6% 46.6% 43.2% -9.7
Asian 76.7% 76.7% 75.7% 72.5% 70.8% -5.9
European 96.3% 95.6% 95.3% 93.5% 91.1% -5.2
Source: Polk
"We anticipated all manufacturers would experience an increase in truck
sales, given the popularity of SUVs and pickups over the last couple of
years," said Rich Spitzer, Polk's director of industry analysis. "In 1998,
trucks represented 47 percent of light-vehicle registrations, compared to 39.6
percent just five years ago. What's surprising is that the domestic
manufacturers' share of the light truck market only decreased by 2.1 points
over that time period despite strong, new offerings from the competition --
and this in a market that grew by nearly 1.3 million in five years."
In terms of current domestic production ratios, Chrysler Motors Corp.
sells three trucks (including pickups, SUVs, minivans) for every car sold,
Ford Motor Co. is at a 2-to-1 ratio, and General Motors Corp. shows the most
balance of the domestic manufacturers, with a virtual 50-50 split.
SHARE OF LIGHT-TRUCK MARKET
Light-Truck 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 Change
('94-'98)
Registrations 5,837,436 5,964,178 6,398,600 6,643,314 7,130,840 +1,293,404
Domestic 85.7% 86.3% 86.2% 84.5% 83.6% -2.1
Asian 14.0% 13.3% 13.4% 15.0% 15.6% +1.6
European 0.3% 0.4% 0.4% 0.6% 0.8% +0.5
Source: Polk
At the same time, consumers' growing preference for near and real luxury
cars has benefited Asian and European manufacturers, who have continued to
gain share in the light-vehicle market. Domestic share of the total light-
vehicle market has dropped 3.2 points to 70 percent since 1994, while Asian
and European shares have increased 1.1 and 2.0 points, respectively.
SHARE OF LIGHT-VEHICLE MARKET (CARS & LIGHT TRUCKS)
Light-Vehicle 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 Change
('94-'98)
Registrat-
ions 14,741,000 14,654,000 14,950,000 14,862,000 15,172,000 +431,000
Domestic 73.2% 73.3% 72.7% 71.5% 70.0% -3.2
Asian 23.4% 22.9% 23.2% 23.9% 24.5% +1.1
European 3.5% 3.8% 4.2% 4.6% 5.5% +2.0
CARS 60.4% 59.3% 57.2% 55.3% 53.0% -7.4
LIGHT TRUCKS 39.6% 40.7% 42.8% 44.7% 47.0% +7.4
Source: Polk
"Domestic manufacturers have proven most adept at meeting consumer tastes
in truck offerings, while the Asians and Europeans have demonstrated similar
capabilities relative to cars," said Spitzer. "Nevertheless, domestic
manufacturers have seen their share of the market decrease. This is another
factor pushing manufacturers toward mergers, partnerships and alliances," he
added. "They are all seeking to create better balance in their product
portfolios in the future."
Polk provides multi-dimensional intelligence information solutions to
companies as a statistician for the motor vehicle industry; as a direct-
marketing resource; as a supplier of demographic and lifestyle data and
database-marketing services; as a publisher of city directories; and as a data
enabler for geographic information systems. Based in Southfield, Mich., Polk
is a privately held firm founded in 1870 that is expanding globally, currently
operating in the United States, Canada, England, France, Germany, Australia,
Spain, Holland and Costa Rica.
